5 Reasons To Join The CPMHC And Help Get Perinatal Mental Health Care #ONTHEAGENDA

The Canadian Perinatal Mental Health Collaborative is bringing the fight to improve perinatal mental health care in Canada to a national level and we’re going to need an army of determined moms and dads willing to work alongside us.

If you’ve tried to navigate the health care system to no avail for help with prenatal or postpartum depression, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, bipolar disorder, or psychosis, we need you.

Here are five reasons why you should join the Canadian Perinatal Mental Health Collaborative today.

1. AN OPPORTUNITY TO TELL YOUR STORY

It’s time to get loud. Perinatal mental health is everyone’s business. When moms-to-be and new moms and dads aren’t properly screened and treated for a perinatal mental illness, they suffer and their babies suffer. Children of parents with a perinatal mental illness are more likely to suffer from mental illness themselves. We need to stop this vicious cycle now by telling our stories and making sure we are heard. The CPMHC will make sure all or our stories are heard.

2. A CHANCE TO JOIN WOMEN AND MEN FROM COAST TO COAST TO COAST

The CPMHC is Canada’s first ever national coalition bringing together moms, dads, advocates, professionals, groups, health care practitioners, and researchers with one single goal – to improve perinatal mental health care in Canada.

3. GET DIRECTLY INVOLVED IN FIGHTING FOR A NATIONAL STRATEGY

Why have different health care and resources in every city and town across Canada? Shouldn’t we all have access to the same level of care? Shouldn’t we all have the same strategy when it comes to perinatal mental health care? To that end, we need a national perinatal mental health strategy and we need our provincial health ministers and federal counterparts to make it happen. We need to legislate equitable access to perinatal mental health care across all provinces, territories and jurisdictions across Canada which could include universal screening, more training for health care professionals, perinatal mental health specialists, mom and baby psychiatric units, better access to therapists, home care, more awareness and education and more research. A national strategy is the main goal of the CPMHC.

4. HELP GET PERINATAL MENTAL HEALTH #ONTHEAGENDA

The annual provincial/territorial health ministers’ meeting will be taking place in Regina, Saskatchewan this spring and we need to make sure that perinatal mental health is on the agenda to get the conversation started among our politically elected leaders about forming a national strategy. Our first, national, #ONTHEAGENDA campaign will unite all our voices and show our political leaders that perinatal mental health is a serious concern to all Canadians who believe in the mental health of families.

5. SIGN AND SHARE OUR NATIONAL PETITION

You’ll get the chance to sign and share a national petition going to all provincial health ministers and our federal health ministers asking that they support the call to ensure perinatal mental health forms part of the agenda for the spring provincial/territories health ministers’ meeting.

Have we convinced you yet? Join the CPMHC today and let’s work together to improve perinatal mental health care in Canada.